Welcome
Welcome to the companion website for Understanding Popular Music Culture, 5th edition, the ideal starting point for students wishing to undertake a comprehensive study in this area.
Here you'll find a range of online resources to support teaching and learning including:
- Questions for discussion for each chapter
- 16 additional case studies
- A discography
- Suggestions for further reading
- Links to useful web resources
Introduction to the case studies
The case studies included on this web site follow the textbook chapters (sometimes falling across several chapters). They variously expand on the discussions there, provide further examples, and offer models for similar studies by students. The following is a brief introduction to the scope of each.
Case study 1 – Flying Nun
Chapter 1 includes a section on independent (indie) labels. Later, in Chapter 12 and case study 12, the text mentions the ‘Dunedin Sound’ and the associated role of Flying Nun records. As the label has now reverted to its original, founding owner, and is once again very active, this case study provides more information on its development.
Case study 2 – Review of Osborne, Vinyl
A book review of a substantial and significant study of the dominant historical record format: vinyl. The book raises a range of related topics and suggests lines of inquiry additional to the discussion of formats in Chapter 2 of the text, as well as the discussion of the appeal of collecting vinyl in Chapter 11.
Case study 3 – Hynde autobiography
Throughout the textbook, I have drawn on popular music biographies and autobiographies as a key resource. This is particularly the case in relation to making music (Chapter 3) and narratives of the ‘rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle’. A recent addition to this literature, is Chrissie Hynde’s autobiography, Reckless,reviewed here.
Case study 4 – Frank Zappa
Auteur status is not always dependent on chart success; indeed, the absence of ‘significant market volume’ is sometimes almost a necessary corollary of cult status and critical recognition. Frank Zappa, who died in 1993, is an example of such a cult figure.
Case study 5 – Music on stamps
As noted in the introduction to Chapter 5, there are many forms of popular musical texts. An additional one, not mentioned there, is postage stamps featuring music. This provides a brief case study with reference to the UK. The topic can be developed further by students, especially in relation to the related issues from their own country.
Case study 6 – Harry Smith’s Anthology
Perhaps the best known example of cultural preservation, closely linked to its perceived authenticity, is Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music. Not only did it make a significant impact in the years immediately following its release, it has come to acquire canonical status.
Case study 7 – Britpop
This general label was applied to the British guitar-based pop/rock bands of the 1990s, initially by the UK music press, with a distinctively British musical aesthetic. This is only a brief sketch, to be developed by students. One interesting line of inquiry is why Britpop ‘ended’ (or did it really?!) and why it has continued to generate interest.
Case study 8 – Marketing to collectors
This is an historical sketch of the ways in which record companies have marketed their releases to collectors. Aspects of this have considerable scope for further study, especially in relation to contemporary practices.
Case study 9 – Popular/rock stage musicals
In the late 1960s, following the success of Hair (1967), the term ‘rock musical’ became employed by many New York critics. Despite the commercial and critical success of a number of such musicals, they remain an oddly neglected topic within popular music studies. Contemporary productions can be studied by students.
Case study 10 – Goldmine
This discussion of the leading US publication aimed at record collectors provides a further example of the music press. Students can compare it with the UK-based Record Collector.
Case study 11 – Memorabilia
Popular music memorabilia are an example of consumption, fandom, and collecting more generally. This sketch can be followed up by looking at contemporary auctions and locations such as The Hard Rock Café.
Case study 12 – Dunedin Sound
This is a book review of a recent study of music making in Dunedin, New Zealand, which showed the continued influence of the Dunedin Sound and the Flying Nun record label (see case study 1).
Case Study 13 – Bruce Springsteen: authenticity and music as cultural politics
Bruce Springsteen is an example of a performer who enjoys both star and auteur status, widely regarded as an articulate, committed artist, who is an outstanding songwriter and performer. Here, linking up with Chapter 13, I briefly indicate his significance as a political artist, in the broader sense of the term ‘political’.
Case study 14 – controversy: Chris Brown
In October 2015 American singer Chris Brown is still awaiting immigration clearance to confirm his scheduled concert at Auckland’s Vector Arena on 18 December. His visit to New Zealand (and also to Australia around the same time) has become the centre of a good deal of public discussion and controversy, centred on his earlier conviction for assaulting then girlfriend Rihanna in 2009. In early December, due to the continued official refusal to issue him a visa, Chris Brown cancelled his tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Case study 15 – Policy: Liverpool
The textbook notes the importance of local popular music policy, mentioning the historical examples of studies of New York, Chicago, Sydney and Melbourne. Space did not allow further treatment of this topic, so I have included an example here: Liverpool.
Case study 16 – David Bowie is
The David Bowie is exhibition was initially held at the V&A, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, during 2013. The exhibition featured more than 300 objects selected from David Bowie’s personal archive. Included were original costumes; films, music videos and their storyboards, original artworks, and Bowie’s handwritten lyrics and original album artwork. A leading example of popular music ‘heritage’, it has since toured internationally.
Book Information Complimentary Exam Copy
